Management changes, made-from-scratch menu items enrich Front Royal Houlihan’s

Sean Smith, general manager (GM) of the Front Royal Houlihan’s, wants area residents to know that upper management changes at the Blue Ridge Shadows Holiday Inn location next to the golf course will make dining experiences there incredibly enjoyable.

That’s in addition to the expansive, reasonably priced choices of comfort foods listed on the Houlihan’s menu.

“I want people to be able to come out and get what they want and not check the bill and have that sticker shock,” said Smith, 37, who’s been in the restaurant business for more than a decade. “We want you to come and enjoy our comfortable environment and made-from-scratch food.

Sean Smith, general manager (GM) of the Front Royal Houlihan’s. Photo by Kim Riley.

“And the boyfriend’s not going to get mad because he’s losing all of his money when he pays for dinner!” he joked.

Upper management changes at the restaurant started less than a year ago, Smith said, beginning with his promotion from front-of-house manager to GM.

Previously, Smith worked for almost 10 years at Chef Geoff’s, an established Washington, D.C.-based group of restaurants founded by Geoff Tracy in 2000. The young man cut his restaurant chops bouncing between the company’s different restaurants, earning an assistant manager title before deciding to leave and join Houlihan’s in 2016.

Once on board at Houlihan’s, Smith realized he knew more about running a restaurant operation compared to the GM at the time. “He didn’t have much experience at all and that can be frustrating to work for someone of that caliber,” said Smith.

So, when that GM quit, Smith got offered the position following “a big negotiation process,” as well as a staff poll that determined he was the top pick for the job among his coworkers.

“I’m very proud of the staff I have,” Smith said about the 63 people he now manages. “I’ve earned their respect and they do pay it forward.”

Houlihan’s staffers work in the restaurant, on the banquet team, in the kitchen and behind the bar. “I have the back-of-house world, the front-house world, the bar world and my banquet world,” said Smith. “Trying to mesh them all together with scheduling and payroll and everything else is quite tricky at times.”

Smith has managed to retain several long-time Houlihan’s employees at the Front Royal site, including some who hail from the same family.

For example, Daniel Devine, the assistant kitchen manager, is one of four members of the Devine family who work at the Front Royal Houlihan’s, while another local family, the Fultons, have three members working there.

“You would think they see each other at home every day and would get sick of seeing each other at work, but they don’t. They really get along well,” said Smith, adding that the dynamic bodes well for diners, who tend to feel like they’re also part of the family.

Capitalizing on the close bond among employees, Smith has progressively improved operations, turning the initial challenges he faced into opportunities at the restaurant.

For instance, he’s instituted a complete staff training system, which previously didn’t exist. “It is a lot of work and it’s still a work in progress because I’m trying to adjust and apply what I’ve learned.”

Additionally, other upper management changes have been made, including filling Smith’s former slot as the front-of-house manager, a position that now belongs to Brianna Marshall, and naming Ryan Hendricks the new kitchen manager.

Together, they’re all working to identify what works and what sells the best among the Front Royal area’s demographic, Smith said.

Luckily, they have some flexibility to experiment with different menu items, he added.

That’s because the Front Royal Houlihan’s is a franchise location, not a corporate location, making it quite unique among other Houlihan’s restaurants, Smith explained.

The local Houlihan’s is individually owned by the privately held Navika Capital Group LLC, a commercial real estate investment company that also owns the adjacent Holiday Inn and the Blue Ridge Shadows Golf Club, among numerous properties up and down the East Coast.

“Due to the fact that we are a little different from every other Houlihan’s, we have a bit more wiggle room with what’s mandated and what we can do,” Smith said. “So, I want to find new and fresh things, but at the same time I want to give everybody what they want.”

What Front Royalers want, he says, tends to be meatloaf and pot roast — the much-loved comfort food items.

Currently, Houlihan’s offers such exclusive main course options like the Down Home Pot Roast and Meatloaf No. 9, each with red wine gravy, gold mashers and homestyle vegetables. Some additional mouth-watering entrees are the Stuffed Chicken Breast with garlic-herb cream cheese, the beer-battered Fish and Chips, a lemon-dill buttered Grilled Atlantic Salmon, and the half-slab BBQ Baby Back Ribs.

Now, let’s talk burgers and steaks. The Front Royal Houlihan’s offers what’s become a house favorite, the 12-ounce Classic Kansas City Strip, for example, and The Kansas City Burger, another fave that features brown sugar bacon, BBQ carnitas, onion straws and cheddar cheese.

Keep drooling because there are also sandwiches, like Southern Cal Fish Tacos with chipotle mayo and house-made honey cumin dressing, and the lip-smacking French Dip roast beef and swiss cheese.

These plate items are listed apart from the appetizers, soups and salads, and flatbreads on the menu. Plus, there are side dishes to choose — Sweet Potato Fries with creamy horseradish, Housemade Salsa and Tortilla Chips, Honest Gold Mashed Potatoes, and Charred Pineapple Brown Rice, among others.

When it comes to adult beverages, forget about the hipster, frilly, elaborately ornate cocktails and the craft brews, Smith said.

“I don’t sell IPAs here. I sell Budweiser. And while foo foo, chichi (pronounced ‘she-she’) cocktails are great, I’ll offer one of those. I’m not going to put six of them on the menu because they’re just not going to sell,” said Smith, adding that he’s on the hunt to find what’s distinctively trendy for Front Royal palates.

And while the Front Royal restaurant hasn’t jumped on the farm-to-table bandwagon — specifically in an effort to keep customer prices lower — Smith said nearly everything offered on the menu is made in-house from scratch. All the dishes are made with fresh, quality ingredients, as well, he said.

“Our approach is to make everything we possibly can from scratch, even down to dressings,” said Smith. “It’s about just keeping it simple, fresh and good.”

Being next to the hotel right, Smith said the restaurant also serves daily breakfast, 6:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. He’s working to maintain a full staff at that hour but said it’s difficult to do so. He wants folks to know that he’s hiring for several positions.

“I absolutely need people; I always do,” he said. “I could hang a permanent help-wanted sign.”

Smith also described the Front Royal Houlihan’s as being “not a snooty place. This is not a hoity-toity place at all. We just want to have a regular staff and have everyone come in, have fun and eat good food.”

Get in on joining the email group for the location to receive regular notices about food specials and different discounts, including free appetizers or buy-one-get-one or 25 percent off an entire meal. People in the email group also receive information on any type of event held there or at the golf course next door. Click here and then scroll down and click on the tab under ‘chain mail’ to join.

Your school, team or organization also could host a “Plate It Forward” night at Houlihan’s, which is your own fundraising event. Houlihan’s will donate 15 percent of all food proceeds to your group and help you spread the word about both your organization and its fundraising efforts. To schedule a Plate It Forward night, email houlihans@frontroyalva.com.